RCL veteran cruised the Carnival Sunshine 6/1-6/6 - REVIEW

[jbethel11]

16 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

LOL, had it there...may be the birthplace, NH is the Pizza Mecca, look in the book of bests...10 years running.

And Naples' Pizza has been running for 130 years so ... Anyway, we agree to disagree, lmao!

[Countrygurl]

I have sailed both RCI and CCL.  Although I give the slight edge to Carnival, I’d sail either anymore and anywhere!

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

And Naples' Pizza has been running for 130 years so ... Anyway, we agree to disagree, lmao!

All good...

[PlanoDebbie]

On 6/8/2019 at 1:31 AM, AAAAmerican said:

Thank You for your opinions and review.

 

When you have a chance look at the wonderful gift of a Shareholder Benefit on Carnival CCL :NYSE / LSE CUK :NYSE.

 

Each time you cruise you get an OBC.

 

RCL offers the exact same OBC for Shareholders.  I own stock in both companies.  I've owned the CCL stock for much longer and the value on it hasn't really increased.  Bought RCL stock 3 years ago, and it has sky-rocketed for us.

[AAAAmerican]

38 minutes ago, PlanoDebbie said:

 

RCL offers the exact same OBC for Shareholders.  I own stock in both companies.  I've owned the CCL stock for much longer and the value on it hasn't really increased.  Bought RCL stock 3 years ago, and it has sky-rocketed for us.

Dear PlanoDebbie,

 

That is well, as having diversity in any Portfolio no matter how small is a great investment advantage.

 

On RCL :NYSE the Shareholder Benefit I was refused. Why? The answer from that Corporate was" Dr. you paid too little".. YIKES as in any 10K it is supposed to be to the letter and it was not a couple of times. It was not with any added deductions either, no not Vet, no not Amex etc...

 

Close as of 06/11/2019 A.D.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL:NYSE

Day's Range USD $121.79 - $124.33

Annual Dividend Yield	2.31%

Volume 965,205

 

..............

Carnival Corp CCL:NYSE

Day's Range USD$52.00 - $53.39

Annual Dividend Yield	3.83%

Volume 3,067,308

 

I do hope as my Thrice Cousin said" Compounding is the Sixth Wonder of the World"!

Edited June 11, 2019 by AAAAmerican

[Joebucks]

There's a lot of hibachi restaurants near me. The food is pretty good at all of them. There is this one that certainly stands out for one reason, the experience. They do a lot of the standard "hibachi" show aspects, but they actually know how to connect with the customers far better. People are always having a great time there, and it is ALWAYS busy because of it.

 

A lot of the old timers will tell you that what is important to cruising is things like tablecloths and silverware spread, because that is nostalgic to them. Royal is a great product, but not that fancy when you consider other luxury lines. Unfortunately, they just can't duplicate that vibe. For me, that's the thing I remember more than trivial accoutrements.

[NCTribeFan]

I also own both CCL & RCL stock.  Lucky me (for once!) got the timing just right when I bought my CCL in early 2009 at about $19!  Not sure what I paid for RCL but it has gone up nicely.

 

I've also read that RCL is much more strict than CCL and that if you book any sort of "reduced" fare that they'll deny it.  I've only sailed them once (way back in 2003 for my 2nd cruise) and have wanted to sail them again, but every time I start pricing my next cruise, they come out considerably higher than Carnival.  I'm often solo and usually book an inside cabin.  I've heard that their balcony rates are often better than Carnival but I'm not going to book a more expensive cabin just because it's less than on some other line!  I'm usually going for the least expensive cabin period!

 

Really want to try Celebrity but their prices haven't been right for me, either.  HAL does give me a solo discount, which most other lines don't, making them affordable on some sailings.  And I like their ships, food & service.

 

OP, thanks for the review!  I'm not going to worry too much about the embarkation process.  I'm well aware of the limitations at the port terminal and the hoops they have to jump through to disembark everyone and then flip the building from luggage pick up/customs/immigrations over to scanners/check-in!  I think they do a great job considering!

[RS77471]

Super good review!!!  We will be on the Sunshine in January for a family trip!!  We have done both Royal Caribbean on family cruises!!  Our opinions are very similar to yours. :-)

[cruzeluver]

Nice review! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. In general, we are more Royal people than Carnival people but there is something about Sunshine we love. Have done several of Royal''s larger ships and still enjoy Sunshine quite a lot. Will be back on board for the third time in October to Bermuda. Can't wait!!

[NCTribeFan]

I haven't been too excited about the Bermuda trip, but I'm getting there.  Just wish we could skip the private island and go straight there and have an extra day.  Really, 1+ days there isn't nearly enough time to see/do everything.  But I've been twice so don't feel the pressure to "do it all" any longer.

 

Am looking forward to sailing Sunshine again.  Had crappy weather on our sea days last time and couldn't enjoy that lovely Serenity Deck.  And the couple of times I was there, it was full and wasn't exactly "serene."  It's not just a kids-free zone, folks.  It should be relatively quiet.  That's what serene means (calm, peaceful, tranquil)!  Wish people would just turn down the volume a bit.  I swear, the people next to me were having a "I've sailed these ships on these lines and been to these ports" competition to see who could brag about it the loudest! LOL.

 

But I did have one of my best casino weeks ever when I sailed her.  Hope my luck returns! 😁

[SurfCat]

Great review. Thank you for taking the time.  We are taking the same cruise this NYE.

 

Would you please expand on how the App for Your Time Dining works?

[anewell28]

2 hours ago, SurfCat said:

Great review. Thank you for taking the time.  We are taking the same cruise this NYE.

 

Would you please expand on how the App for Your Time Dining works?

I was not the person in our group that had the app, but from what I observed it seemed pretty easy. When our group was about ready for dinner, Haley's mom would request a table. Usually by the time we walked down there it was ready. One night, Haley and I took a nap while her parents and sister went to dinner. It was surpringinly easy for each of group to request a table for three and two of us separately, if that makes sense. I guess what I am trying to say is that there was 5 of us in the group but you do not have to reserve a table for all 5 every time.

Hope that helps!

[AAAAmerican]

On 6/8/2019 at 3:18 PM, TrinaLC said:

We are on Sunshine now and loving it!  The Serenity area is amazing. About 5 times the size of some other ships. Love the Havana bar area for expanded dining and hanging out.  Crew is fantastically friendly. 

 

Charleston embarkation is back to being a mess though, as they have changed the process yet again and no one directing traffic has a clue. 

Dear TriunaLC,

 

So many things shol;uld be as the Citadel in Chareslton, S.C. as well the Boy Scouts;

Leadership and Being Prepared